For me, picking blueberries is the quintessential summertime activity. It is one of my most cherished activities when the sun is hot and the days are long. This pastime of mine was first discovered while living in Alaska where there were many wild blueberry patches. It was there that residents would secretly head out to their coveted patch each August and pick to their heart's content, hoping that their prized spot would not become a crowd favorite next year, thus allowing them to bask in the glory of their wild berries year after year.
I made a bucket list of the summertime activities that I wanted to do with Marshall this year, and berry picking was on the list. I had heard that blueberries were in season during June in Kansas, so my inner-berry-picking-clock had already started going off. I knew I needed to go soon! Be it a coincidence or not, the day after I made my bucket list, my dear friend Kristie invited me to go blueberry picking with her the next day. I totally did a happy dance when she asked me, I was so excited!
We left Lawrence at 7:15 AM on Tuesday and drove out to The Berry Patch in Cleveland, Missouri, arriving at 8:15 AM. They couldn't have picked a better day to go, for the heat advisory of the previous days was not in effect. It was a gorgeous ~78 degree F morning.
I came prepared: I brought my bug spray, rain boots, and long sleeve shirt and warm up pants just in case the mosquitoes were bad. But then I remembered I wasn't in Alaska. My boots were pretty handy because there were some muddy sections, but the nicely groomed rows of blueberry plants were a breeze to comb through compared to the wild plants amidst boggy grounds and giant mosquitoes of Alaska. Oh the spoiled life!
What fun I had, picking giant berries the size of quarters and dimes with some lovely girls and women from church. I must have eaten half as many as I put in my bucket, they were so sweet and flavorful! We picked for about an hour, and as you can see in the picture, I nearly filled my bucket, weighing in at 4.36 pounds. At $2.90/pound, I got a pretty great deal.
There is a sort of satisfaction from finding your own wild blueberry patch and fighting off mosquitoes for your summer's bounty that I missed on this trip, but I am forever grateful for the opportunity to actually have gone and to do so with some truly amazing people. Truthfully, I am itching to go back already, this time with my husband. He's a faster picker than me anyways.
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| Apparently I wanted to kiss my shoulder. Malia, Sarah, Maria, and Jenessa |
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